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MATTHEW 5:33 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Matt 5:32Matt 5:34
“Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:”
Again you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. The fourth antithesis addresses oath-taking. The tradition drew on Leviticus 19:12 and Numbers 30:2 to prohibit false oaths — oaths sworn in God's name that were then broken. The culture had developed a hierarchy of oaths based on what was sworn by: oaths by heaven, by earth, by Jerusalem, by one's head. Jesus will address the ingenuity behind these distinctions in verses 34–37.

Church Fathers on Matthew 5:33

The Lord has hitherto taught to abstain from injuring our neighbour, forbidding anger with murder, lust with adultery, and the putting away a wife with a bill of divorce. He now proceeds to teach to abstain from injury to God, forbidding not only perjury as an evil in itself, but even all oaths as the cause of evil, saying, 'Ye have heard it said by them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself.'

Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria) · medieval compilation · non occ.

This was allowed under the Law, as to children; as they offered sacrifice to God, that they might not do it to idols, so they were permitted to swear by God; not that the thing was right, but that it were better done to God than to daemons.

Jerome · 4th century

For no man can swear often, but he must sometimes forswear himself; as he who has a custom of much speaking will sometimes speak foolishly.

Pseudo-Chrysostom · 5th century
Read all 15 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Matthew 5:33 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy